It was the third encounter in a week between the Miami Heat and Washington Wizards. Each outfit had copped a win at home, and habits and weaknesses were understood by both sides heading into Friday night’s game. At this point, it was a battle of wills.

 

Observations

 

The Heat rolled into their 20th game without Jimmy Butler, Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Duncan Robinson. The starting lineup was Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Nikola Jović and Bam Adebayo.

 

The boxscore is not kind to this rotation. Through two games, they score 28.5 points on 52.3% shooting from the field, but the opponent (Washington) scores five more points on 60.5% efficiency from the floor, per NBA Stats.

 

Yet, the team is 2-0 in the games they start.

 

A few factors contributing to the rough defensive numbers are A. Miami is using a rookie, Jović, out of necessity with so many guys out.  Despite his unmistakable feel for the game, he is still raw, and someone defenses will likely target first. B. Herro finally returned over the past two wins after missing eight straight nights with a hurt ankle.  C. The Heat have no choice but to rely heavily on the 2-3 zone because the guys available, aside from Adebayo,  Martin, and maybe Lowry, can’t be counted on to get a stop by themselves.  

 

Nonetheless, this five-man unit produced 39 of 110 Heat points in 14.5 minutes on Friday.

 

But what won Miami the game?

 

The Heatles were much sharper in the zone than the Wizards.  Both squads shot below 30% from deep, but the home team managed to close off the lane more effectively.  The hosts gave up only 46 points in the box to their rivals.

 

Contesting the 3-point line, Miami had length covering the baseline and corner.  On one play, Bradley Beal curled around a Kristaps Porziņģis dribble-handoff and broke into the square as he was iced by Herro and Adebayo.  He then dished to the corner, but Jović closed out perfectly on Deni Avdija in the corner, forcing the miss.

 

In another instance, Washington had a mismatch in transition as Dewayne Dedmon matched up with Corey Kispert. Barton passed to Kispert, who was running towards the right wing, but Dedmon only stayed a step behind the arc.  Unwisely, Washington’s 3-point specialist hoisted a triple over his 7-foot tall defender, kissing nothing but the front of the iron.  

 

 Miami obliterated Washington’s interior, scoring 62 paint points.  Trays weren’t falling with ease from deep for the Heat, but they managed to get inside the teeth of the opponent’s zone for a shot inside without much resistance.

 

Adebayo finished with 38 points, making 68% of his attempts, with 12 rebounds and three dimes.  His two-way production guided them through 36 minutes.  His fourth-quarter mastery catapulted the Heat to victory.

 

With Miami down six points in the final period, Adebayo ran a DHO with Herro on the left wing.  As both defenders blitzed Tyler, he snuck a bounce pass between the coverage into a rolling Adebayo for the jam.

 

On his next bucket,  in transition, Adebayo dribbled downhill past Kyle Kuzma for a soft finish at the cup. 

 

For his third, fourth-quarter basket, he posted up Anthony Gill in the low post and backed him down into the lane.  Adebayo then turned for a right-handed five-foot hook shot.  

 

As the roll man after a pick set for Martin, Adebayo trailed the cutting ball handler, who missed at the rim.  #13 went up for the putback and forced a goaltend.

 

On his last field goal, the Lowry-Adebayo pick and roll was run flawlessly.  With the Heat up a point and 28 seconds remaining, Adebayo set a high screen for Lowry to shed Beal. Kyle cut right as Bam rolled left, attacking the drop coverage.  The bounce pass was delivered into the pocket as “No Ceiling” kept cutting and finished through Porziņģis.  

 

In the fourth quarter, Bam scored 12 points, making 5/7 shots.

 

Adebayo Recently

 

Over his last five games (Heat are 3-2), Adebayo is averaging 24.2 points a night on 48% efficiency from the field, plus 10.6 boards and 2.8 assists, per Basketball Reference.  Butler only played in one of those games- Miami’s one-point win at home over Phoenix on Nov. 14. 

 

Also noteworthy about this minuscule sample size is that Adebayo is making 7/8 free throws a  night.  Getting to the line more than a few times a game helps a team by giving the players a breather, and they can get into defensive position much easier following the last freebie.  

 

With the team undermanned and some personnel in different roles than last season, Adebayo must continue this stretch of brilliance when Butler returns to the lineup.  He and JB are the squad’s best options for creating pressure inside.  The best way to make sure the group’s snipers are left alone or poorly defended is if the two of them inflict maximum damage in the lane.

 

To his credit, Bam has shown up yearly with improvements to his scoring arsenal.  Last season, 60.8% of baskets were assisted.  Through 18 games in this campaign, only 52.9% of buckets come with help, per Basketball Reference.    

 

 

 

The Heatles improved to a 6-7 record entering the fifth week of the NBA season.  In week four, Miami played three games at home, losing one to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday and beating the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday and Saturday.

 

During these three games, the Heat flashed moments of their former selves.  They also demonstrated a handful of bad habits.  Let’s examine the positive and negative aspects of the Heat through week four.

 

Positives:

1. Seizing the passing lanes

 

Miami came away with 27 steals and forced 52 turnovers in their last three matches at home.   Jimmy Butler was responsible for a third of the takeaways. In total, the Heat scored 67 points off turnovers  Yet, the high volume of interceptions in the passing lanes and forced errors skewed their rebounding numbers.

 

Yes, Miami was beaten on the boards 50-38 in their overtime win against Charlotte. But the Heat would have had more opportunities to recover the ball off the glass if the other team didn’t lose it 20 times.  

 

Nonetheless, these repeated instances were a reason why Miami took more field goal attempts in all three games.  

2. Dependable at the line

 

In week four, Miami averaged 24 free throw attempts a night but more impressively converted 83.4% of their shots.  Butler, as usual, was the Heat’s most reliable option to get to the “welfare line.”  He logged 26/28 freebies, helping his squad by cutting the flow of the game and giving his teammates a break on defense.  

 

When Butler wants to, he can get to the line at will.  He’s currently averaging the third-highest volume of attempts in his career (8.3) that come as a result of his consistent pressure in the lane.  This season, Butler is averaging 66.7% of his tries from 0-10 feet from the hoop, a new career high.  

 

As a unit, the Heatles shoot 86.7% for the year, which puts them at  #1 in the league.  Counting only the players who qualify for league leaders, Miami only has one guy who shoots below 80% at the line, Caleb Martin (72.7).  

 

3. Money in the paint

 

Over three nights, Miami made 75/123 (61%) interior shots with a combined 150 points in the paint.  

 

Even on a night where they couldn’t hit anything from outside the square, like on Thursday against Charlotte, Miami was still sharp attacking the box, cashing 63% of their attempts in the non-restricted area.

 

Miami’s best options at attacking the interior are Butler and Bam Adebayo.  Their quick recognition of their opponent’s 2-3 zone coverage did not deter them from breaking down the scheme by attacking the middle, clenching the defense and giving extra space to shooters on the perimeter.  

 

4. Crisp ball movement without a starter + a role player filling big shoes

 

Tyler Herro hasn’t played since Nov. 4 in the Heat’s loss at Indiana.  Despite his absence, Miami still logged a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio with Max Strus inserted into the starting rotation. In the first quarter against Charlotte on Saturday, 11 of Miami’s 14 baskets of the period were assisted.  

 

One play that stood out during the Heat’s most recent victory was Kyle Lowry’s eighth dime of the night.  At the top of the key, he noticed Robinson on the left wing with his defender, James Bouknight, wholly turned away from the ball.  Robinson, not known for attacking inside, darted to the basket with his man draped all over him. Lowry still hit his man on the run, and Robinson finished with Bouknight behind his hip.  

 

Another sequence worth mentioning occurred with fewer than six minutes left in the same game.  At the top of the key, Gabe Vincent was matched up with LaMelo Ball.  Adebayo then came in, splitting a screen, and rolled right to the basket as Vincent went left, attacking the drop coverage.  A couple of steps into the lane, Gabe lobbed up the rock as Mason Plumlee was caught in no man’s land.  Adebayo reached into the heavens and powered the rock through the cylinder.  

 

For the week, Miami turned the ball over 10.7 times a night.  Passes were executed with precision when the opponent overcommitted on the Heat’s rim attacks or when a mismatch was identified.   

 

This year, Herro is a near 20-point per-game scorer.  Filling in for #14, Strus averaged 19.6 points on 42.4% shooting from 3-point range on 11 attempts a night.  Mad Max put constant strain on the opposing defense by having his man actively trail him + curling around screens and firing away in the openings of the zone.  

 

5. Offensively productive second unit

 

In week four, Miami’s bench was relied on for 35 points a game, outscoring all three of its opponents by an average of five points.  For the stretch, the Heat’s strongest reserve was Vincent. 

 

In overtime on Thursday, he took a pair of trips to the line and was immaculate.  On Saturday, both his buckets in the fourth quarter were difficult shots.  The first materialized from a left-wing drive.  Vincent circled toward the left low post, turned, and hit a fadeaway jumper over the taller Ball to give Miami a 13-point lead.

 

On his next basket, Dedmon ran a dribble hand-off on the right wing for Vincent, and Ball went under the pick.  As Vincent turned the corner of the screen and entered the lane, Ball was back on his right hip but was thrust backward by Gabe’s strong side.  Vincent picked up his dribble, faded and hit the nylon.  

 

Now for the other side of the coin.

 

Negatives:

1. Paint Coverage

 

In the past two seasons, the Heat were #1 in opponent scoring in the paint, giving up only 42.1 points in the area both years.  In this campaign, Miami has dropped to fourth after a three-game stretch conceding 51.3 paint points.  

 

When Miami went to the 2-3 zone, Charlotte’s Kelly Oubre had no issues getting to the middle past Robinson or Strus and finishing.  Ball, in single coverage with Martin or attacking through PNR, was also able to get to the box on his terms and convert.  

2. Inefficient catch-and-shooting 

 

The Heat are too skilled from deep to be shooting 33% on catch-and-shoot triples for the season and over the last three games.  

 

Lowry took six of these shots on Thursday, some with the help of a screen and missed five.  The lift on his legs looked fine, but he was missing makeable looks and wide-open trays.  

 

Robinson had the same issues all week, launching away from deep. When a pass from a teammate beat the closeout defender, he was still off target.  Against Portland, when hit with a pass by Butler on the right wing, Robinson unthinkably fired away over the much shorter Damian Lillard by fading to the side.  Clank. 

3. Not capitalizing enough on the break

 

Miami did make its rivals pay when they committed a lousy pass, having 18.8% of its total points for the stretch attributed to scoring off turnovers.  Although, only 9.8% of their output was created on the fastbreak.  

 

In the future, the Heat must maximize these opportunities by out-hustling the opponent, so they have easier chances to score on 3-on-2, 2-on-1, or any break upper hand.  Usually, the starting lineup features four players who could get down the court in a hurry.  It also has a distinguished veteran QB who is highly proficient at launching hit-ahead passes that leave defenders out of the picture.  

 

For the season, Miami is 25th in the NBA in this category at 10.2%.  In week four, the Heat were 18th best in the NBA in this stat, yet they had a lower percentage (9.8) than the yearly average.

 

4. Opponents shot well from the field

 

Through three games, Miami’s defensive rating was 111, and opponents recorded better than league-average efficiency from the field (50.9%, LA- 46.5%).  In the future, everyone not named Adebayo, Butler and Martin will need to show more consistency staying in front of their man and closing out to shooters on drive-and-kick plays.  

 

5. Too dependent on Butler to get to the line

 

Despite the Heat’s stellar shooting at the line, players other than Butler are not getting there enough.  JB was responsible for 43% of Miami’s free throw points during week 4. He took 9.3 charity shots, and his teammates tied for next in attempts were Adebayo and Vincent, each averaging 3.3 tries. 

 

That volume is too low for Bam, and it’s below what he logs for the year (4.2).  Adebayo’s percentage of shots taken from 0-3 from the cup has dropped 5.8 points and his efficiency in that spot has fallen 7.7 points as well.  

 

Weekly Grade: C+

The Nets’ public relations disaster ended with Kyrie Irving and the team pledging to donate half a million dollars each towards causes that work to eliminate hate in the community. I award the team and Irving zero nobility points -irreversible damage has been done.

 

According to the FBI, the Jewish community is the most targeted religious group in the United States.  Just in 2020, there were 683 recorded hate crimes against them.  What Irving did is serious and would be enough to cost him his job in most places outside of sports.  Promoting those views on his platform makes it unsafe for Jewish people.

 

The excuse that the idling Nets were waiting for the counsel of the ADL will be accepted by many. Brooklyn should’ve suspended Irving the moment he promoted antisemitic propaganda. Letting him play signaled to the public the Nits didn’t think it was a big enough issue until they had more information. Essentially it means they don’t know how to take charge of their organization. 

 

It’s inconceivable how Joe Tsai became a boss when his word doesn’t mean anything.  Supposedly he was going to have Steve Nash and Sean Marks’ backs, but one of them was already sacrificed on the altar of a poor start of the season.  Nash was canned and Ime Udoka, the man, the Boston Celtics, suspended for an inappropriate relationship, has emerged as a strong front runner.  The Celtics weren’t clear on nature of the improper relationship. 

 

It isn’t fair to Brooklyn’s women and Jewish fanbase how they have handled these matters.  Irving’s views, which were backtracked, are, at best, dangerously misguided and, at worst, intentionally cruel.  

 

Fact: Kyrie didn’t even apologize.  The best he could do was say through a press release, “I am aware of the negative impact of my posts towards the Jewish community, and I take responsibility.  I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles…”  

 

Then on Thursday, when he was asked by a scrum of reporters about the joint statement, Irving wouldn’t answer if he was apologizing.  When peppered by ESPN’s Nick Friedell on if he has antisemitic beliefs, all he could say is that he embraces all walks of life and he couldn’t be antisemitic because he knows where he comes from.

 

I’m glad he said, at least on the record, that he doesn’t share every view of the filth he endorsed.  It shouldn’t be swept under the rug that the book the film is based on despicably denies the Holocaust.  The “documentary” itself promotes garbage from Adolf Hitler too.

 

 There was no “I am sorry” in Irving’s statement.  How remorseful can this pointless contrarian really be?  Forgive me if I am a bit suspicious of his intent to soothe the emotions of observers.  He hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt to say the Nets didn’t pressure him into doing this.  

 

Before the Nets, Irving and the ADL released their joint statement, insufficient press releases were made public by NBA Communications and the NBA Players Association.  Neither of these declarations named the problem:  Irving.  Instead, they said the bare minimum. 

 

NBA Coms said, “Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable…”

 

The Players Association said, “Antisemitism has no place in our society… We will continue to work on identifying and combating all hate speech wherever it arises.”

 

The NBPA’s statement is BS.  Irving is still incomprehensibly a vice president of their union.  One of their own validated bigotry, and they didn’t hold him accountable.  

 

Imagine if NBA personnel were held to the same standard people outside of sports are.  It was just 16 months ago that Google fired Amr Awadallah over his antisemitic views.  In 2020, Beverly Hills police chief Sandra Spagnoli was forced into early retirement after lawsuits alleged racism, antisemitism, and harassment.  In 2019, the Palm Beach County school board fired principal William Latson from Spanish River Community High School because he wouldn’t acknowledge the Holocaust as factual.

 

Irving is fortunate he still has a gig in the NBA, but this is the last year of his deal.  Even before this nonsense, I couldn’t imagine any team outside of the Lakers soliciting for his services owing to the fact that he’s overpaid and undependable.  This latest headache is the icing on the cake.

  

As for Udoka becoming a front runner, he has an adequate understanding of the game and has earned respect on that front.  It’s evident by the fact that his Boston team managed to claim the second seed after a poor start to the season and came two wins away from a title.  But a coach is supposed to be a leader of a group.

 

His conduct was unbecoming of a teacher, and it remains to be seen the ultimate impact of how the mess ended in Boston.  It’s no secret that athletes and their colleagues fool around.  I am not excusing that wicked behavior, but you shouldn’t be untrustworthy at work.  Udoka couldn’t follow protocol and reportedly sent more inappropriate messages to other women in the organization.

 

The Nets considering Udoka makes it clear that winning is a priority over keeping a respectable workplace environment.  

 

If he gets the job, good luck to Udoka dealing with Irving.